Baby Congestion

[mrscompgeek]

My week old baby is congested!! She doesnt have a fever or cough, she just sneezes alot and sounds congested, especially when she is laying down or nursing. We keep sucking her nose out with the "boogie sucker" but we arent getting anything out. Its more like the congestion is in her throat or chest. Any suggestions on what it could be? We are going to the pediatrician this afternoon just to be sure since there is so much H1n1 going around here right now. We have been running a vaporizer all weekend but it doesnt seem to do much good.
What does a baby with allergies act like? Im just praying she isnt allergic to dogs cause we have 2 and I dont know if I could stand the thought of getting rid of them. Is there something they can give a baby for allergies?
Ill update when we get home from the pedi with what she says. Just thought I would see if any mamas have gone through this before.

[Serenyd]

Caden did the exact same thing @ one week old. I was so upset, I thought he was getting sick. I think it might have been the formula I supplemented him with, because later on he got congested after having dairy, even yogurt. He seems to have outgrown it, but still doesn't care for cow's milk.

[Huck]

Arianna is congested too. It seems much worse at night. Reading about it in Dr. Sears' The Baby Book, it sounds like it is common for little babies to be congested, noisy breathers. It still makes me really nervous!

In our situation, I think it is from the wood heat and/or the dusty house (we have dogs & cats). Dryness is supposed to be really bad for babies, midwife recommended a humidifier.

Could also just be milk pooling in her nose. I've been holding her upright for 15 minutes after nursing, trying to limit nursing while lying down.

Shannon- Congrats on your baby! She's probably fine. My midwife was not at all worried, said she'd seen this a lot. Be careful exposing her to germs at the ped though.

[Pandme]

It's completely and totally normal.

My son was congested for WEEKS. And this one is still a bit congested although it has improved from the earlier weeks. She's 4 weeks old now.

Stop worrying about allergies to dogs, etc. This is a highly normal thing.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

it is completely normal for newborns to get pretty congested as they have very small narrow nasal passages so it's more likely for them to get blocked up with snot or milk, try not to worry too much (i know easier said than done)

[paradoxia13]

Sometimes all it is is that they didn't get all the fluids and mucous squeezed out of them on the way out! Especially if it was a fast pushing stage, or a c-section they can have lots left in there.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Mine has been congested too.... If it gets really bad I squirt some saline up there to clear it out some people use breast milk. For the most part though I just leave it and it works itself out.

Personally I am staying away from the doctor for the most part, too many people with the flu around here going to the doctor. I am bringing him in for a 2month check since we didn't do the 2week and he hasn't been seen since birth but I made sure to get the first appt of the day. Even then I am not real thrilled about bringing him in to the germ infested clinic.

[tayndrewsmama]

Ds was like that for a long time after he was born. The ped said it was nothing to be worried about and that it was from pregnancy hormones that he still had in his body.

[mrscompgeek]

Back from the Ped. . . . She said she was really congested. The reason we werent getting any boogies out when we sucked them out was because it was all dried. THe pedi shot a saline nose spray in her nose and sucked out a ton of boogies. Ki has been breathing so much better since! We stopped and got some little noses saline spray and the pedi said in a week or so she should be back to normal and not have to use the spray.

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by paradoxia13

Sometimes all it is is that they didn't get all the fluids and mucous squeezed out of them on the way out! Especially if it was a fast pushing stage, or a c-section they can have lots left in there.

This is probably it. My dd was really congested the night she was born and still is congested in her nose. My pushing stage was a couple of minutes at most so I am sure all the fluids didn't get pushed out of her on the way out.